kscans

Chapter 686 - At the Princess's Whim

"…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………And with that, why doesn't she join the rankings?"

"A mystery."

The weekend was over. Monday afternoon, in my room in the real world.

While indulging in baking, which wasn't quite a hobby, my assistant next to me muttered a word after a long, long period of thought. Unfortunately, all I could offer in return was a question mark of my own.

"In a way, she has a more unique status than anyone else. I can only imagine there are all sorts of circumstances we don't know about… Oh, stop. That's enough."

"Mm."

What the [Sword Queen] held in her right hand was not a sword, but a hand mixer, a league above the one at my parents' house in terms of quietness. The egg whites in the bowl she held with her left hand had transformed into a stiff meringue, and she had successfully completed the task I had given her.

I had heard several times that she wasn't used to it due to a lack of opportunity, but when I actually entrusted her with the task, her dexterity and efficiency were, as expected, superhuman. It seems nothing is impossible for the invincible princess.

In any case. The topic of conversation, which had begun when Ashe had casually dropped by my room and sparked an impromptu joint cooking session, was about my partner (Sora), who had rampaged until she fell asleep last night.

"To be serious, could it be because she's not good at PvP?"

"That might be a factor for the Eastern faction's selection criteria, but… your partner's value is not so small as to be excluded for that reason alone."

"Right? I think so too."

I added about a third of the meringue to another bowl with the egg yolk batter and mixed it in, then added the rest and folded it in with a spatula, cutting through the mixture.

When the time was right, I poured it all at once into a pan shaped like a giant donut maker. All that was left was to bake it, and in a few dozen minutes, a delicious chiffon cake would be ready.

"…Hey, Haru."

"Yes, this is Haru."

"Is it normal for boys to be able to bake cakes?"

"I think anyone can do it if they try. You can find recipes online in an instant now."

"I see… So you can make chiffon cake at home."

"It's much easier than a sponge cake, so in the Kasuga household, it's more of a home-style cake."

And so the work was safely done. While exchanging relaxed words befitting a leisurely afternoon, the oven beeped to signal that preheating was complete as I quickly cleaned up the utensils.

Now, it was time for its journey. Off you go, and become delicious.

"Anyway, in the end, there's no answer other than 'it's a mystery,' right? It's impossible for Togo-shi and Nagomi-san, who can only operate on the outside, to pull any strings… so if there is something going on, it must be the 'gods'' intention."

"But even so, it's inconsistent. If they just wanted to give her special power, there's no reason not to make her a ranker, which would grant her a 'title,' a special unique ability. And the demerit of becoming a ranker, standing out, is—"

"She's already got the [Cradle of Sword-Craft], a super-special [Anima] that's guaranteed to break the balance and go on a rampage. If they were trying to restrain her, they've failed."

In any case, my partner is too far from the norm in too many ways.

But in the end, in a virtual world where many 'special' things exist, the alternative answer of 'her own talent' always comes up, making it impossible to narrow down any theories.

So,

"…Let's drop it. It's not a very pleasant topic anyway."

"I agree. Sora is Sora, and that's all that matters."

"That being said, I wish she'd tone down the absurdity a bit. I'm envious. I want to be able to freely control multicolored magic swords too."

"In the whole wide world, Sora is probably the only one the [Sword Queen] looks up to."

It's best to leave lighthearted topics as they are. It's a part of me that can't help but be curious… but well, Sora is Sora.

My cute and reliable partner, and that's good enough.

"In terms of combat power, it's a huge blessing that she's not a ranker. It's fine for her to remain 'nameless' for now… at least until we've conquered all the 'Colored' monsters."

"She's a super-special asset that doesn't take up a slot…"

In fact, she'll be a great help in the 'Green Connect' conquest scheduled for next weekend… or will she? It's not even certain if we'll encounter direct combat in that one—

"That aside. How are your preparations for this weekend?"

And so, Ashe shifted the conversation to a point one week before the future I was looking at. This Sunday, the 'Triangle Duo' was just six days away.

"Hmm… well, so-so? Tetra and Goldow told me not to worry too much about it, and I plan to participate just for fun, as they said."

The estimated audience size—the AR dome built near the Tokyo bay area, nicknamed the 'Yotsuya Dome' or 'Stupid Technology Building,' is the size of the Tokyo Dome, so the number of 'gazes' will be in the tens of thousands at a minimum.

Even though we won't actually be going to the venue, appearing before 'true civilians' in a crossover with the real world… well, it's not hard to imagine that the tension will be of a different kind and on a different level than before.

But you know, I've given up on all that.

"So, no problem. Once the real thing starts and I focus on my opponent, I'm sure I won't notice what's going on around me, as usual… I believe… I will… so it's fine."

"…Are you really okay?"

"Your eyes aren't smiling."

And her voice didn't sound worried at all. I averted my gaze from the skillfully smirking, expressionless Ashe—well, I've had my gaze averted for a while now, so I thought she hadn't noticed, but—

"Haru."

"Yes."

"When are you going to look at me properly?"

She noticed. She totally noticed. I'm dead.

The refreshments were still in the oven, but the coffee I had brewed and served as a distraction wasn't enough to fool her. Ashe closed the distance, and I turned my face away.

But, as always, she wouldn't let me escape.

She grabbed my head and forced my neck to turn, and what jumped into my vision was—the princess in her casual, dorm-only clothes, with an apron on top.

And whose apron is it? It's my apron, of course. Are you kidding me?

"…Does it not suit me?"

"I-It's hard to put into words…"

To be blunt, it doesn't suit you. It doesn't suit you at all.

And because it doesn't suit you, it suits you perfectly. Give me a break.

The overwhelming feeling is that she's not used to wearing it, and that it doesn't match her. And since it's my personal item, it's too big, so it's baggy, and that's just… you know…

You know…!!!!!

"…………Which is better?"

"Stop changing the color, I don't need a variety show, I've had enough…!"

And so, for the next few dozen minutes until the oven timer went off.

Ashe, who had begun to seriously tease me by putting on and taking off the 'bracelet' that surpassed the 'Yotsuya Dome' in technology, and messing with her hairstyle,

It goes without saying that I was utterly helpless and made a complete fool of myself.